The day was finally here.
Y/N was going to get a chance to battle with Leon in the Champion Cup Tournament and get a chance to defeat the Unbeatable Champion.
As her alarm went off, she silenced her phone and sat up while raising both arms in the air to stretch them out. After rubbing her eyes with her hands, she looked over to see she was alone in the hotel room with her team.
She looked around for Raihan, but saw he wasn't there. As she got up and walked over to his side of the bed, she saw a note waiting for her.
The note read:
Good Morning my love! I'm off to get you some breakfast; you have a big day ahead and I don't want you to be worried about having an empty stomach. If you're awake before I get back, I'll see you soon.
Love, Rai
She smiled as she set the note down, then turned towards her still sleeping, team. As she returned each of them but Ninetales, she walked over to the bathroom to take a shower.
As she cleansed her body, she tried to relax and prepare herself for the day to come. She knew unfortunately the first thing she would face would be an extremely unwanted interview, but she decided to go through with it and get it over with.
Once she was done with her shower, she grabbed a hair dryer and started on her wet hair before beginning her make up. After she curled her hair and shook it out, she was left with beautiful loose curls that were pinned halfway back so her face was free from any strands, that is before she pulled out her long, face framing bangs.
After she was almost done with her makeup, she heard the front door open and close, followed by Raihan's voice, letting her know he was back.
"In here!" she called out, as the bathroom door opened.
"Well, hello beautiful." Raihan greeted, as he went up to her and hugged her from behind while kissing the top of her head.
"Good morning." she giggled, before turning around to press her lips against his.
"Don't you look incredible!" he said in awe. "Breakfast and coffee is on the nightstand. Your favorite, of course." he winked.
"And this is why I love you." she teased, before turning to finish her makeup.
"Yeah yeah, I know." he chuckled. "I'll let you finish getting ready."
As he left the bathroom, she finished touching up her face and got dressed into a casual outfit before joining him back in the main room. They still had some time before they needed to head towards the stadium, so Y/N grabbed the food and immediately started showing her face full of it.
Shortly after, the food was gone and Raihan looked at her in shock.
"Uh, you okay sweetheart?" he laughed causing her to blush.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why?" she sweat dropped.
"I've just never seen ya like this..." he scratched the back of his head.
"Fine. I am a tincy bit nervous. Okay?" she admitted.
Raihan laughed, and walked over to Y/N who was sitting on the bed looking at her feet. He sat next to her and took her in his arms, helping calm her down.
"I know you are." he sighed. "Nerve's are good, right?" he picked her head up by her chin, flashing her a toothy smile. "You and I both know how good of a trainer you are, but it's better to be confident and a little nervous, then overly cocky. You're going to be incredible today, no matter the outcome. Just take a deep breath, and try to relax a little. Don't get in your head too much."
Y/N inhaled through her nose, and then exhaled from her mouth. She already felt a little better and a bit relaxed, only because of Raihan. He always knew the right things to say and could make her feel better no matter the situation.
"Now, you ready to go kick some Champion ass?" Raihan teased, causing Y/N to let out a laugh.
"Ha." she rolled her eyes. "I'm ready."
Raihan stood up and held his hand out for her, and she grabbed it and stood up. They made their way to the hotel door, then went towards the elevator that led them to the hotel lobby.
As the golden doors opened, they were immediately greeted by a couple of league staff members who would help them get through the sea of reporters waiting for Y/N outside.
"Oh, Arceus..." she sweat dropped, starting to feel her nerves spike back up.
"Hey," Raihan grabbed her hand, "I got you. Okay?"
"Okay." she sighed, while forcing a smile.
"Hello, Miss Y/N." one of the league staff members greeted. "We are here to escort you to the stadium. Gym Leader Raihan is more than welcome to accompany us on the way, but before your interview we ask that you come alone."
Y/N nodded as she understood why it would be better for her to be alone for her interview and battle preparation. Raihan would only be a distraction and would take away from her day, and she didn't want that. He understood as well, and wanted to do whatever Y/N wanted and needed to be happy.
"Ninetales, I'm going to return you while we head over there, okay?" Y/N told her partner, who nodded and went back into her pokéball with no hesitation.
As they started towards the entrance, they walked out to be immediately met with cameras flashing here and there. Instead of trying to hide behind her fears, Y/N walked out with her head held high, and smiled and waved at the reporters.
Raihan felt incredibly proud to see this side of her; she was coming out of her shell and showing off her true confidence which he knew would help her during her battle.
Typically the league staff would walk with the challenger through the city to the stadium, but due to the unplanned and unexpected amount of popularity Y/N and Leon's battle was bringing, it was safer for her to be flown there.
As Y/N and Raihan approached the flying taxi that was waiting for them outside, they hopped in and took off towards the stadium after being followed by the league staff in a separate cab.
Once they arrived outside the stadium, they were once again greeted by flashing cameras and questions being thrown their way. As the cabbie hopped off his Corviknight, he opened the door for the two and helped them out.
"Good luck today, Miss Y/N." he smiled. "I'm rooting for you!"
"Wow, thank you sir." Y/N gushed.
She and Raihan thanked the man, and went towards the stadium entrance as staff workers separated them from the roaring crowd. Once they made it into the stadium, it was somewhat less hectic due to the fact that the stands were not yet open for the public.
"Alright, Challenger Y/N." the head worker walked towards her. "I'm sorry, but this is where you say your goodbyes. We will need you to go change into your uniform before your interview."
"I understand." she told him, before turning towards Raihan. "Well, guess I'll see you after?"
"You will, my love." he pulled her in for a hug, before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "You got this. Go defeat Leon and become Galar's newest Champion. I'll be the loudest one cheering for you from the stands, and will be there with you every step of the way. I love you, Y/N. Good luck, baby."
She tried to stop her eyes from tearing up, and placed her hands on his cheeks instead while pulling him in for a kiss. Their lips met, and it took everything in her to pull away.
They heard a synchronized "aw" from the people around them, and Y/N giggled as she pulled back, and said goodbye before going to change into her uniform and prepare for her interview.
After getting dressed in the all white gym challenger uniform, Y/N checked her reflection in the mirror and fluffed her hair once before leaving the locker room bathroom.
As she came back into the main area, there stood an empty chair on the opposite side of one of Galar's biggest news reporters. She stood up and greeted Y/N, then held out her hand towards the chair opposite of her gesturing for the challenger to take a seat.
Y/N nervously smiled, but obliged as she took the spotlight. The reporter touched up her make up and grabbed a microphone as she told her camera man they were ready to roll. The interview would be live, of course.
As the first questions came, Y/N took a deep breath and put a smile on her face.
-
To no surprise, the first few questions were automatically about her relationship with Raihan; how the two were just so cute together and the hottest couple of the year, and as much as this was true, (Y/N thought so at least), this was supposed to be an interview about her, not her relationship.
"So, Challenger Y/N," the reporter started, "tell us how you honestly feel about your battle with Champion Leon?"
"I'm very excited for it." Y/N admitted. "Leon is an incredible trainer and friend, and I am glad we are finally getting to have this battle together."
"It has been delayed a couple of times..." the reporter smirked, "care to explain?"
"Well, uh," she hesitated, "we both were dealing with Chairman Rose unfortunately and things had to be postponed."
"So was it because you obtained some serious injuries? My records show you being spotted leaving the hospital multiples times. Not to mention sightings of bruising around your neck and on your arms. Care to explain what really happened with our old Chairman?"
Y/N was astonished that the interview was going this way. It took everything in her not to burst into tears at the memory of her last encounter with Rose, and then yell at the reporter for her idiotic questions while she tried to ruin the biggest day of her life.
Yet, she somehow held her composure and held her breath to contain any obvious mood changes. As she looked at the smug reporter who thought she won, she answered with as much confidence as she could.
She wasn't going to let this woman get into her head and make her question anything else she already had dealt with in the past two weeks. This was her day and her time to shine and show Galar how strong she was.
"Just a little cuts and bruises is all." Y/N smiled. "Nothing I couldn't handle, or I wouldn't be sitting here interviewing with you, right?"
The woman across from her sucked her lip, and flashed a fake, bitchy smile just like Y/N knew she would.
"You sure are correct, miss Y/N." she scoffed. "Everyone in Galar is just so happy to see you up and moving and ready to take on Champion Leon."
"That is just so good to hear! I cannot wait for all of Galar to witness something special today." Y/N taunted.
"Well, I think that's all we need from you today. Thank you for sitting down with us and good luck today, you'll need it going against the Unbeatable Champion!" she jabbed, as Y/N forced a laugh.
As soon as the cameras cut, the reporter stopped the act she had put on and gave Y/N a death stare. She sarcastically thanked her for the interview, and she shook her head before leaving the locker room.
Y/N sighed, and went to check her phone before getting called back and told the battle was beginning. Once she opened her messages, her phone was flooded with messages from all her friends wishing her luck with her battle. Her heart felt full, and she smiled while reading each and every one.
She was even surprised to see messages from the Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia, along with Professor Rowan, Barry and Lucas, plus all her friends in Galar as well. After holding her phone against her chest and over her heart, she heard one of the staff members call her name.
"Challenger Y/N? We're ready for you." she nodded, stood up, and headed for the pitch.
It was time.
-
As Y/N walked out the glass doors leading to the Wyndon tunnel, she walked out towards the field for the last time as a gym challenger. She took a deep breath, and made her way out to the stadium opening after coming from the dark walk way.
Once she was now out in the open, the crowd roared louder than she had ever heard before. As Leon came out on the opposite side, he smiled at her causing her to flash one back his way. Her palms were starting to sweat, and her adrenaline coursed through her veins.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for the Champion Cup Tournament!" the announcer said, causing the stadium to roar. "Taking the field, we have the challenger who helped save the future of Galar by capturing the mythical Pokémon, Eternatus!"
"And on the other side of the field, we have the one, the only, your Unbeatable Champion, it's Leeeeooooooonnnnn!"
After reaching the middle of the field, she stopped and turned towards Leon who was already facing her.
"Who will be the winner? Will Challenger Y/N be the one to finally end the Champions winning streak? Or will Champion Leon defeat yet another hopeless challenger? You won't want to miss this! Let's see how this historic battle will end!" the announcer cheered, as the crowd grew silent while waiting for what would happen next.
"My matches are always sold out but this..." he chuckled while looking around, "I've never seen a crowd this wild!"
"Guess we kept them waiting too long." Y/N giggled.
"Yeah, you're right." he laughed and shook his head. "You know, Y/N, I couldn't have dreamed of a better challenger to help increase my winning streak!"
"We'll see about that." she taunted.
"Come on, Y/N! Let's make this a final match that'll go down in Galar's history."
She nodded, and turned away from him and walked towards the pitch as he did the same.
"We're gonna have an absolutely champion time!" Leon cheered while throwing up his signature pose, causing the crowd to go wild.
While Y/N thought of which Pokémon to use first, Leon stood across the field, slapped his face a couple of times, took off his signature cape and sent out Aegislash.
And then, the battle began.
As Leon already had one of his team members on the field, it was Y/N's turn to counter, so, she sent out Flygon.
"Aegislash, let's start this off with Kings Shield!" Leon called, while his partner obliged.
"Alright, Flygon use Dragon Tail!" Y/N called.
The move hit head on, but didn't do as much damage as she'd hope.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Leon shouted.
"Dodge it and use Bulldoze!" Y/N countered.
Her partner was too fast, and quickly flew towards the sky, dodging the attack and hitting Leon's Pokémon head on, this time with a super effective attack.
Leon hesitated, as his partner was slow to get up. Y/N took advantage of this, and called for her Pokémon to repeat the same move, causing the victory over Leon's first Pokémon.
The crowd went wild as the first one was down, but there was still plenty of time for anything to happen.
Next, Leon called out Haxorous. It would be dragon type on dragon type. Y/N knew she was in trouble.
"Flygon, use Dragon Pulse!" she called.
"Not so fast." Leon smirked. "Haxorous, dodge it and use Outrage!"
His partner quickly jumped out of the way, and hit Flygon from the back side. He cried out in pain, while Leon called for his partner to repeat the same move causing Flygon to faint.
As Y/N recalled him, she thanked him for his hard work, and sent out her next Pokémon. This time, she called out Noivern. After coming out from his pokéball, he let out of screech and soared up in the sky.
Haxorous, who was still stuck using Outrage, continued with the same move as Noivern dodged it as best as he could. Thankfully he somewhat was able to get out of the way, but still took a hit which did quite the damage.
"Noivern, use Ice Fang!" Y/N called, as he headed towards a now confused Haxorous, and sunk his teeth into his side.
As Haxorous shrieked from the pain, he quickly shook off his confusion while using Outrage once more. Again, Noivern was fast, but not enough. He got hit again causing him to lose most of his energy, but held on just enough to use another Ice Fang attack, causing his opponent to faint as he followed in suite.
Leon and Y/N returned their partners, and went on to the next.
As he sent out Rhyperior, Y/N chose to counter with Gyarados. She wanted to save him for later in the battle, but knew she had no choice but to use him now.
Leon looked surprised to see the red dragon so soon, and knew he had the type disadvantage off the bat.
"Gyarados, you know what to do." Y/N smirked, as her partner obliged and sent out an extremely powerful Hydro Pump, causing the opponent to faint immediately.
"Another super effective hit... I'd expect nothing less from your team." Leon scoffed, as she let out a chuckle.
Once Leon called his partner back, he grabbed his next pokéball, and sent it out confident as ever. Appearing in front of them was Leon's Rillaboom, a grass type. Y/N knew she was in trouble again.
"Rillaboom, let's use Wood Hammer!" he called, as his partner quickly obliged.
Before they could counter, Gyarados was hit hard. He shook it off, and stood up proud while letting out a screech. Y/N called for him to repeat his move, and he did.
The two pokémon went at it for a while, Gyarados holding up his own for sure, but ending up fainting first. Y/N called him back, and thanked him for his stellar performance against a tough opponent.
Next, Y/N sent out Lucario. Rillaboom seemed to be full of energy somehow, and was ready to fight. As the two pokémon locked eyes, the battle was back on.
The two fought tirelessly and neither seemed to want to give it. As Rillaboom sent out Wood Hammer once more, Lucario countered with Aura Sphere. The attacks collided causing the field to fill with smoke, and once it subsided there on the field lay Rillaboom, fainted.
Then, Leon sent out Dragapult. As his Dragon type fought against Lucario, they went at each other with everything they had. With two last moves sent out by each Pokémon, both ended up fainting simultaneously, causing the crowd to cheer for the exciting battle in front of their eyes.
Leon was down to one Pokémon left, while Y/N had two. As he sent out his ace and top fighter, Charizard, Y/N sent out Luxray. The light on both trainers dynamax band lit up, and they looked at their wrists before locking eyes with each other.
"Luxray, use Thunder!" Y/N called, while Charizard stood his ground ready to take the attack.
"Charizard, flamethrower!" Leon shouted, as the fire burst from the dragons mouth.
Both Pokémon were hit, but were ready to continue. Y/N didn't know when he was going to take this battle to the next level, but she didn't want to give in til he did.
Luxray fought tirelessly and was seconds away from fainting, while Charizard only had a few scratches on him. As Leon went to press on the dynamax band on his wrist, Y/N called out, "Wait!"
As he paused, looking at her with confusion, she recalled Luxray even though he still had a bit of fight in him.
"I want to end this with where it started." she smiled, as she grabbed the last pokéball around her waist.
As she threw it towards the field, out came her first and most trusted partner, Ninetales. The two were in sync, and for the first time today Leon looked somewhat nervous.
"Charizard, it's time!" Leon shouted, as he called his partner back sending out the gigantimax version of him.
"You ready for this, girl?" Y/N asked, as her partner let out a battle cry. Y/N recalled her pokémon, and watched as her pokéball grew in size.
As she sent it out behind her, Ninetales grew in size as the sky filled even more with red and purple clouds causing the field to go dark.
"Let's finish this! G-Max Wildfire!"
As Charizard prepared to send out his strongest attack, Y/N called for Ninetales to follow in suit.
"Counter it with Max Flare!"
As the two moves hit, the stadium filled with smoke, causing the field to go black. While waiting for it to subside, Y/N had other plans.
"Now!" she shouted, as her partner thrashed forwards hitting Charizard head on with a Max Strike move.
As he let out a shriek, he stumbled back a bit before regaining his balance and firing a Max Flare back.
Typically Leon wasn't used to the battles coming this close, but Y/N was on a whole other level. As Ninetales observed the attack, she shook it off as both Pokémon sent out Max Flare once more, causing the stadium field to be hidden again from the backlash.
After both Pokémon shrunk down to their normal size, Leon called out for Charizard to get rid of the smoke with his wings, but he was quickly shocked to find himself getting struck again by Ninetales. She was faster than Leon remembered, and he knew he was in trouble.
"Charizard, come on! Flamethrower!" Leon demanded.
"Ninetales, dodge it and use Fire Blast!" Y/N called from the shadows.
Charizard sent out his attack straight ahead, with no target in sight. Once he realized his attack missed, he felt himself fly forward after being hit on his back from a sneaky fox who was fast as lightning.
Charizard groaned as he tried to get up, as the smoke finally subsided. Straight ahead of him was his opponent, with her red eyes staring him down.
"Let's finish this! Use the move we've been practicing!" Y/N called out.
The audience was on the edge of their seat, as they watched Ninetales take a stand and prepare to send out an attack.
As Y/N and Leon locked eyes, Ninetales and Charizard did as well.
Ninetales took a deep breath, and began forming energy in front of her. Before Leon knew it, it was too late. As the ball full of red, energy formed in front of her, Y/N's partner sent out the strongest Hyper Beam any of them had seen.
It completely demolished Charizard and hit him head on. After taking the attack, it took everything in him to stand back up on his feet. Once he was up, the entire stadium fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.
Both trainers waited for what was next, and what happened took everyone by surprise.
Charizard wobbled a bit, then fell back, fainting. Leon was out of Pokémon, and Y/N had just won.
"Ch..." the announcer stuttered. "Charizard is unable to battle, therefore, Challenger Y/N is the winner and Galar's newest Champion!"
As she stood there on the field, she heard the stadium erupt in cheers and chants of her name. She couldn't believe she had actually won. Ninetales turned around and faced her trainer, who was currently running towards her to celebrate.
After being in the middle of the field with her partner in her arms, confetti began to fall from the sky. The stadium was still chanting her name, and in that moment Y/N felt nothing but pure bliss.
Leon walked towards her after returning his partner, and held his hand out in front of her.
"My time as a Champion is over... but what a champion time it's been." he sighed, and smiled as Y/N grabbed his hand and shook it. "Thank you for the greatest battle I've ever had."
Y/N now stood up in the middle of the field next to Leon, who continued holding her hand only to raise her arm in the air next to his.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I now introduce you to
Galar's newest champion, Champion Y/N!" Leon cheered, as everyone went wild.
Y/N blushed and waved towards the crowd, as she quickly scanned her eyes in the audience and stopped once she found one of the suites.
To her surprise, she didn't just see her boyfriend and friends. Alongside Raihan, Marnie and Hop, was her mother next to Hops, Sonia, Nessa, Piers, Milo, Kabu, Bea, Opal and even Gordie.
And next to them, was her childhood bestfriends, Barry and Lucas alongside Professor Rowan.
Everyone she could have wanted to watch her win was there, and it was everything she could have ever asked for.
As she turned towards Leon and started to open her mouth, he held his hand out in front of her.
"This is your moment, Y/N. You deserve this. I'll be okay. Now, let's celebrate!" Leon smiled, as she did in return.
She leaned in to give him a hug, and he held her before pulling back and taking off his signature cape. He placed it around Y/N's neck, officially passing the torch on to her.
All of her hard work had payed off, everything that had happened up until this point didn't matter. She was now a Champion who had the best boyfriend and best friends around her.
It was all worth it in the end; every heart break and heart ache, all the ups and downs, and every good moment or bad, got her to this point, and she wouldn't have changed a thing.